Secession

Re "Irreconcilable differences," Opinion, Nov. 18 Regarding the recent efforts in some states to petition for secession, people should recall that 150 years ago this was no joking matter. When 11 Southern states tried to secede in 1861, it caused a tragic Civil War in which more than 600,000 lives were lost. President Lincoln dealt severely with those states that tried to secede, and rightly so. The people today who want to follow those treacherous citizens of the 1860s (who didn't like the president then either)

SACRAMENTO - Judging by your emails, many readers agree with me that a proposed ballot measure to split California into six states is crazy. "Ridiculous. " "Laughable. " Also, you concur that this bird will never fly. Not only would the plan need to be approved by California voters, Congress and the president would have to sign off, too. "Do you really think Democrats would ever allow anything to disrupt the 55-electoral-vote advantage they get every four years?" from California, reader Kurt wrote.

WASHINGTON -- What began as a small group of citizens voicing their disappointment with President Obama's victory in last week's presidential election has turned into a plea from hundreds of thousands of citizens to have their states be granted independence from the federal government. The White House has now received secession petitions from all 50 states by citizens requesting that the administration “peacefully grant” them the opportunity to form their own sovereign government.

LONDON - The top U.S. and Russian diplomats tried but failed Friday to avert escalation of the conflict over the Crimean peninsula, leaving Moscow and Washington badly divided over the legality and consequences of a Sunday referendum on whether Crimea should secede from Ukraine. Secretary of State John F. Kerry said Western nations would not recognize the vote and that if the vote goes forward they would swiftly begin imposing sanctions on Moscow, whose proxies in Ukraine are driving the secession bid. He also warned that any move by the Russian government or lawmakers to ratify the outcome of the referendum, almost certain to endorse secession, would amount to an illegal "backdoor annexation" of Crimea.

SAN FRANCISCO - Modoc County, in remote northeastern California, has voted to join neighboring Siskiyou County in its bid to withdraw from the state and team with southern Oregon counterparts to go it alone. Tuesday's 4-0 vote by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors - with one supervisor absent - to explore the pursuit of a state of Jefferson came just weeks after Siskiyou County supervisors voted 4-1 on a resolution to back secession. Modoc's board chairman, Geri Byrne, told the Redding Record-Searchlight that she placed the measure on the agenda “because I heard from a number of people in my district that wanted to do such.… We're not saying we're seceding today, we're saying let's look into it.” “This is going to have to be something the people bring forward,” Byrne said.

For Shirley Svorny, the principle benefit of Valley secession is a weakening of public employee unions ("Power Shifts When Cities Downsize," Aug. 22). Svorny should know that it was union activism that brought us the 40-hour workweek, pension plans and employee health plans. Unions are behind today's living wage ordinances as well. Although those things that unions fight for benefit nonunion workers as well, union membership in America has dwindled to 13% of the work force because of union-busting policies on the part of corporations and governments.

As a longtime union member and strong supporter of the necessity for organized labor in an equitable society, I am appalled at the scare tactics of the Police Protective League ("Police Unions Launch Anti-Secession Fight," Aug. 7). If my distaste for the self-glorifying edifice builders and financiers of the L.A. establishment were not enough to dispose me toward secession, Capt. Jim Tatreau's veiled threat, "I'm very confident Hollywood and the Valley will see it's in their best interest to stay with this great city and this great Police Department," pushes me over the edge.

Back in 2009, when he was a candidate struggling for reelection, Texas Gov. Rick Perry swung by a tea party rally in Austin and famously winked at the idea of his state breaking off from the U.S. and creating a whole other country. He quickly became the butt of jokes on the late-night TV circuit -- this was before his famous "oops" moment as a presidential candidate -- and Perry just as quickly backed off the notion. Cynical? Perhaps. Calculated? So it seemed: The move boosted Perry's tea party credibility and helped him on his way to a smashing reelection win en route to that ill-fated 2012 White House bid. Now, with greater earnestness, activists are emulating that breakaway spirit, launching secession movements in several states, among them California, Michigan and Maryland.

Voters in a half-dozen counties in rural Colorado have rejected a call to break away and create a new state, dealing a serious setback to an effort that always seemed a long shot. Residents of 11 Republican-leaning counties cast ballots in an advisory vote Tuesday, a backlash arising from unhappiness over legislation passed this year by the Democratic-run Legislature, including gun controls, clean-energy requirements and expanded gay rights. The vote was the first of several steps it would take to form a new state, something that has not happened through secession in 150 years.

MOSCOW - Ukraine's Crimea region would become an independent country if voters approve secession in a hastily organized referendum Sunday, the Russian-controlled regional parliament declared Tuesday in a shift away from plans for immediate annexation to Russia. The change appeared to mark a change in strategy by Moscow to shield itself from accusations that it has orchestrated an illegal seizure of another country's territory. European Union and U.S. officials have threatened trade and travel sanctions against Russia if it persists in encouraging the predominantly ethnic Russian-populated Crimean peninsula to vote for cleaving itself from Ukraine.

MOSCOW - Ukraine's Crimea region would become an independent country if voters approve secession in a hastily organized referendum Sunday, the Russian-controlled regional parliament declared Tuesday in a shift away from plans for immediate annexation to Russia. The change appeared to mark a change in strategy by Moscow to shield itself from accusations that it has orchestrated an illegal seizure of another country's territory. European Union and U.S. officials have threatened trade and travel sanctions against Russia if it persists in encouraging the predominantly ethnic Russian-populated Crimean peninsula to vote for cleaving itself from Ukraine.

In case you can't hear the rumblings down there in the metropolis, residents in the far northern part of the state aren't happy. They believe you people in the south are holding them back, and many of them would like to combine with southern Oregonians to form a 51st state, which they would call Jefferson. Over the last year, wandering Jefferson's back roads while researching a book, I listened to its citizens' complaints and ideas. Many of their grievances are understandable. With the logging, fishing and mining industries already devastated by both over-exploitation and regulation, the Great Recession hit the region especially hard.

Voters in a half-dozen counties in rural Colorado have rejected a call to break away and create a new state, dealing a serious setback to an effort that always seemed a long shot. Residents of 11 Republican-leaning counties cast ballots in an advisory vote Tuesday, a backlash arising from unhappiness over legislation passed this year by the Democratic-run Legislature, including gun controls, clean-energy requirements and expanded gay rights. The vote was the first of several steps it would take to form a new state, something that has not happened through secession in 150 years.

SAN FRANCISCO - Modoc County, in remote northeastern California, has voted to join neighboring Siskiyou County in its bid to withdraw from the state and team with southern Oregon counterparts to go it alone. Tuesday's 4-0 vote by the Modoc County Board of Supervisors - with one supervisor absent - to explore the pursuit of a state of Jefferson came just weeks after Siskiyou County supervisors voted 4-1 on a resolution to back secession. Modoc's board chairman, Geri Byrne, told the Redding Record-Searchlight that she placed the measure on the agenda “because I heard from a number of people in my district that wanted to do such.… We're not saying we're seceding today, we're saying let's look into it.” “This is going to have to be something the people bring forward,” Byrne said.

Back in 2009, when he was a candidate struggling for reelection, Texas Gov. Rick Perry swung by a tea party rally in Austin and famously winked at the idea of his state breaking off from the U.S. and creating a whole other country. He quickly became the butt of jokes on the late-night TV circuit -- this was before his famous "oops" moment as a presidential candidate -- and Perry just as quickly backed off the notion. Cynical? Perhaps. Calculated? So it seemed: The move boosted Perry's tea party credibility and helped him on his way to a smashing reelection win en route to that ill-fated 2012 White House bid. Now, with greater earnestness, activists are emulating that breakaway spirit, launching secession movements in several states, among them California, Michigan and Maryland.

AULT, Colo. - Jennifer Weichel stood scowling behind the counter of her antique shop, in front of a life-size cutout of John Wayne, and fairly spat the word out: "Used!" It's how, she said, people in rural northern Colorado feel they're treated by those in Denver and its sprawling suburbs, the ones with all the political power, who think milk comes from a carton and meat arrives magically shrink-wrapped inside the butcher case. "They don't even know who we are up here," she said, her anger like the smoke curling from Wayne's six-shooter.

September 4, 2013 | By Kate Mather, This post has been corrected. See the note below for details.

It's the Golden State's latest version of the Great Secession. Fed up by Sacramento's regulations and Southern California's political sway, residents in one rural Northern California county are taking steps to leave the state. The Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors voted, 4-1, on Tuesday to pursue seceding from California, the Redding Record Searchlight reported . Proponents say Siskiyou should form a new state -- called Jefferson -- with other counties in Northern California and Southern Oregon they believe share similar interests.